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University of Alabama's adapted athletics program an example to emulate

University of Alabama wheelchair basketball team coaches Brent Hardin, left, and Margaret Stran, who also started the program, are seen with the men's and women's teams at the UA recreation center on Feb. 7 in Tuscaloosa.

Staff photo | Dusty Compton

By Tommy Deas and Andrew CarrollSports Writers

Published: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, February 11, 2013 at 10:09 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | Brent Hardin started a decade ago with a vision and no budget.

Hardin, who had just arrived as an assistant professor in adapted sports at the University of Alabama, wanted to start a women's wheelchair basketball team.

“I didn't ask permission to do it,” Hardin said. “I just did it.”

Hardin came from West Georgia with Margaret Stran, an assistant professor in the kinesiology department, where Hardin was teaching and Stran was coaching wheelchair basketball. They married shortly before arriving at UA, and pursued the startup program together.

They applied for a grant from the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which supplied $5,000 in startup money and secured a place to practice at Foster Auditorium, which had fallen into disrepair before being refurbished a couple of years ago. They raised more money to buy equipment and help fund trips to away games.

Now, 10 years later, the UA women's wheelchair basketball team has won three national championships. The simple idea has grown into the UA Adapted Athletics program, adding a men's wheelchair basketball team, tennis and rowing along the way, with a ground-breaking golf program starting up this year. The program has an annual budget of about $450,000, six full scholarships, three full-time employees and another part-timer, along with interns. They have a suite of offices in Moore Hall, complete with a jam-packed trophy case, and play at the UA student recreation center.

With a new decree last month from the U.S. Department of Education declaring the opportunity to participate in athletics is a right for disabled athletes, and mandating that schools that receive federal money provide athletic opportunities for disabled athletes, the UA program is a model for others to emulate.

“I keep reminding all our people we're nowhere near where we need to be, but we're miles ahead of where we were,” the 46-year-old Hardin said. “We didn't exist 10 years ago, and we're a leader now. We have more programs than any other school in the country.”

Hardin's choice of women's wheelchair basketball to start up the program was strategic. Only Illinois and Arizona had collegiate programs at the time, and the women's teams played against men's teams and club teams to fill out a schedule.

“We thought that was the biggest need,” he said. “We felt like we could be competitive and we felt that would really help us, because Alabama loves a winner.”

The women's team had a rapid rise to success, luring Paralympic-level athletes from across the country and around the world to stake out a place as a national contender as other schools started up programs.

The teams in other sports followed.

“The men's basketball program has gotten stronger,” Hardin said. “We've already had good success with tennis, it's so well-organized and integrated with able-bodied tennis. Rowing was a good fit because we had the facilities and an active rowing community.”

It probably helped that Robert Witt, hired as UA's president in 2003, came from Texas-­Arlington, which already had a strong wheelchair basketball program, and that Judy Bonner, UA provost when the program started and now UA president, also pledged support.

“We're really fortunate here that the administration sees adapted athletics as a bright light for this university,” Hardin said.

Neither Witt nor Bonner were available to comment for this story.

“We are still reviewing the new mandate from the Department of Education, but we remain committed to providing opportunities for all our students to succeed, as students and as athletes,” said Deborah M. Lane, associate vice president for university relations, in a statement.

A game-changer

Ford Burttram played wheelchair basketball at Alabama on scholarship and is now an assistant coach. He had played one year at Wisconsin-­Whitewater, then moved back home to Florida to deal with some family issues. He attended a technical school in Mobile before he heard Alabama was starting up a program.

“I was very intrigued and surprised that the university started a program,” he said. “This program means the world to me. I care about this program, I care about this university.

“Athletics truly has given me the grit and desire to get up and go on no matter what my situation is. I always see my cup as half-full rather than half-empty, and I believe that is attributable to my involvement in athletics because the game is never over until the final whistle. I never hear that final whistle. I think athletics has given me the chance to be an active member of society.”

Hardin believes the Department of Education directive is a game-changer for disabled athletes, but perhaps not an immediate one.

“Why don't kids who are great athletes who are in wheelchairs have the opportunity? They should. This directive says it is a right,” Hardin said. “It is probably going to take some lawsuits before we know exactly what this means, how it is defined by the courts.”

Hardin envisions a day when disabled athletes will compete in the same arena as able-­bodied athletes, although perhaps not head-to-head.

“Right now, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis are not NCAA-recognized sports,” Hardin said, “but now they may have to be. When that happens, that's when I think you'll really see big growth.”

The Department of Education guidelines are not aimed just at major colleges. They will affect all schools that receive federal money.

Barry Mohun is concerned with finding the best players available to recruit for the men's basketball program at Shelton State Community College, and he wants to be able to offer scholarship money to those who qualify. As a director of athletics, he is also concerned with the fiscal bottom line.

Mohun said he did not know what kind of additional sports programs might have to be established under the federal guidelines.

“Right now, I have no idea, the whole scope and how it's going to end up,” Mohun said. “I think we've always tried to recruit, no matter what the circumstances are, the person that best fits our program. That's what we'll try to do unless we get mandated to go in a different direction.”

Mohun said he has coached players with certified learning disabilities.

“They're able to use the resources we have here at Shelton to take untimed tests or get some tutoring in some different things,” Mohun said. “I know that we've had many that would fit in that category. We're real fortunate to have some really good resources here for all our student-athletes and those that may have a learning disability to take advantage of.”

Madonna Thompson, coach of the Shelton State women's basketball team, said one of her former players was blind in one eye, the result of a childhood accident with a BB gun. Thompson said the player wore protective goggles on the court. Thompson said another Shelton State player is hearing impaired.

“There are so many disabilities out there, but this is a collegiate setting,” she said. “You have to have certain academics to get within this institution to even be eligible to play for the team. And then there's the physical demands. You've got to be able to keep up with us physically on the floor and in the weight room. In my opinion, I think it's just a case by-case-situation. It's just like the military. If you don't meet certain requirements for our military, you can't get in because you have to keep up, so I think it's kind of the same thing here.”

Bobby Sprowl, Shelton State's baseball coach, pitched at Alabama before going on to a pro career. Sprowl cited the example of Jim Abbott as an athlete who excelled despite a disability. Born without a right hand, Abbott pitched at Michigan and advanced to the majors.

“In baseball, you can go to the major leagues and find guys with disabilities,” Sprowl said. “Jim Abbott was an all-star pitcher with one arm, basically. Baseball is probably an easier sport than other ones to have a physical disability and play because of the different roles a kid could have.

“We're going to take the best players we can find to represent the school in a positive way, and that's not going to change unless we're told to do it different. You're always worried about the safety of an individual. Baseball is one of those sports that there's a few ways you could probably get hurt if you couldn't react to get out of the way or something. That could happen, but there's a lot of guys that do it. This is nothing new for athletics. It's just a matter of what the guidelines are for it.”

Facing challenges

Kareem McNeal, an instructor in the Wellness Center at Shelton State, was a volunteer assistant coach for the Tuscaloosa Academy football team during the fall. The Knights won the AISA Class AAA championship, and McNeal said he expects to get a ring.

McNeal, an offensive lineman from Tuskegee, earned a ring as a member of the 1992 University of Alabama championship team. He played at Alabama in 1991-94, graduated in 1996 and earned a master's degree in 1999, the same year McNeal was in an auto accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

“I don't know a lot of the details on it, but I think if there are more opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in sports I think it's great because there are so many benefits for participating,” McNeal said. “There's team camaraderie. There are things you learn about life to help you overcome things and keep pushing through things. Any time you're a part of something like that and the goal is greater than yourself, then you can only improve and better yourself.

“For me, personally, it helped me to deal with my situation in the sense that there were things I had to learn to overcome and push myself on in order to achieve my goals. I wanted to start as an offensive lineman for the university, and there were some challenges I had to overcome to get to that point.”

McNeal said he faced more challenges after the accident.

“It really helped me in that regard,” he said. “Participation is the main thing. People want to be included. They don't want to be left out. People may have things that limit them to a degree. With what I do here, I have students with disabilities, and I have other students that take my classes. We work them wherever they are to be able to do what they can do.”

<p>TUSCALOOSA | Brent Hardin started a decade ago with a vision and no budget.</p><p>Hardin, who had just arrived as an assistant professor in adapted sports at the University of Alabama, wanted to start a women's wheelchair basketball team.</p><p>“I didn't ask permission to do it,” Hardin said. “I just did it.”</p><p>Hardin came from West Georgia with Margaret Stran, an assistant professor in the kinesiology department, where Hardin was teaching and Stran was coaching wheelchair basketball. They married shortly before arriving at UA, and pursued the startup program together.</p><p>They applied for a grant from the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which supplied $5,000 in startup money and secured a place to practice at Foster Auditorium, which had fallen into disrepair before being refurbished a couple of years ago. They raised more money to buy equipment and help fund trips to away games.</p><p>Now, 10 years later, the UA women's wheelchair basketball team has won three national championships. The simple idea has grown into the UA Adapted Athletics program, adding a men's wheelchair basketball team, tennis and rowing along the way, with a ground-breaking golf program starting up this year. The program has an annual budget of about $450,000, six full scholarships, three full-time employees and another part-timer, along with interns. They have a suite of offices in Moore Hall, complete with a jam-packed trophy case, and play at the UA student recreation center.</p><p>With a new decree last month from the U.S. Department of Education declaring the opportunity to participate in athletics is a right for disabled athletes, and mandating that schools that receive federal money provide athletic opportunities for disabled athletes, the UA program is a model for others to emulate.</p><p>“I keep reminding all our people we're nowhere near where we need to be, but we're miles ahead of where we were,” the 46-year-old Hardin said. “We didn't exist 10 years ago, and we're a leader now. We have more programs than any other school in the country.”</p><p>Hardin's choice of women's wheelchair basketball to start up the program was strategic. Only Illinois and Arizona had collegiate programs at the time, and the women's teams played against men's teams and club teams to fill out a schedule.</p><p>“We thought that was the biggest need,” he said. “We felt like we could be competitive and we felt that would really help us, because Alabama loves a winner.”</p><p>The women's team had a rapid rise to success, luring Paralympic-level athletes from across the country and around the world to stake out a place as a national contender as other schools started up programs.</p><p>The teams in other sports followed.</p><p>“The men's basketball program has gotten stronger,” Hardin said. “We've already had good success with tennis, it's so well-organized and integrated with able-bodied tennis. Rowing was a good fit because we had the facilities and an active rowing community.”</p><p>It probably helped that Robert Witt, hired as UA's president in 2003, came from Texas-­Arlington, which already had a strong wheelchair basketball program, and that Judy Bonner, UA provost when the program started and now UA president, also pledged support.</p><p>“We're really fortunate here that the administration sees adapted athletics as a bright light for this university,” Hardin said.</p><p>Neither Witt nor Bonner were available to comment for this story.</p><p>“We are still reviewing the new mandate from the Department of Education, but we remain committed to providing opportunities for all our students to succeed, as students and as athletes,” said Deborah M. Lane, associate vice president for university relations, in a statement.</p><p><b>A game-changer</b></p><p>Ford Burttram played wheelchair basketball at Alabama on scholarship and is now an assistant coach. He had played one year at Wisconsin-­Whitewater, then moved back home to Florida to deal with some family issues. He attended a technical school in Mobile before he heard Alabama was starting up a program.</p><p>“I was very intrigued and surprised that the university started a program,” he said. “This program means the world to me. I care about this program, I care about this university.</p><p>“Athletics truly has given me the grit and desire to get up and go on no matter what my situation is. I always see my cup as half-full rather than half-empty, and I believe that is attributable to my involvement in athletics because the game is never over until the final whistle. I never hear that final whistle. I think athletics has given me the chance to be an active member of society.”</p><p>Hardin believes the Department of Education directive is a game-changer for disabled athletes, but perhaps not an immediate one.</p><p>“Why don't kids who are great athletes who are in wheelchairs have the opportunity? They should. This directive says it is a right,” Hardin said. “It is probably going to take some lawsuits before we know exactly what this means, how it is defined by the courts.”</p><p>Hardin envisions a day when disabled athletes will compete in the same arena as able-­bodied athletes, although perhaps not head-to-head.</p><p>“Right now, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis are not NCAA-recognized sports,” Hardin said, “but now they may have to be. When that happens, that's when I think you'll really see big growth.”</p><p>The Department of Education guidelines are not aimed just at major colleges. They will affect all schools that receive federal money.</p><p>Barry Mohun is concerned with finding the best players available to recruit for the men's basketball program at Shelton State Community College, and he wants to be able to offer scholarship money to those who qualify. As a director of athletics, he is also concerned with the fiscal bottom line.</p><p>Mohun said he did not know what kind of additional sports programs might have to be established under the federal guidelines. </p><p>“Right now, I have no idea, the whole scope and how it's going to end up,” Mohun said. “I think we've always tried to recruit, no matter what the circumstances are, the person that best fits our program. That's what we'll try to do unless we get mandated to go in a different direction.”</p><p>Mohun said he has coached players with certified learning disabilities.</p><p>“They're able to use the resources we have here at Shelton to take untimed tests or get some tutoring in some different things,” Mohun said. “I know that we've had many that would fit in that category. We're real fortunate to have some really good resources here for all our student-athletes and those that may have a learning disability to take advantage of.”</p><p>Madonna Thompson, coach of the Shelton State women's basketball team, said one of her former players was blind in one eye, the result of a childhood accident with a BB gun. Thompson said the player wore protective goggles on the court. Thompson said another Shelton State player is hearing impaired.</p><p>“There are so many disabilities out there, but this is a collegiate setting,” she said. “You have to have certain academics to get within this institution to even be eligible to play for the team. And then there's the physical demands. You've got to be able to keep up with us physically on the floor and in the weight room. In my opinion, I think it's just a case by-case-situation. It's just like the military. If you don't meet certain requirements for our military, you can't get in because you have to keep up, so I think it's kind of the same thing here.”</p><p>Bobby Sprowl, Shelton State's baseball coach, pitched at Alabama before going on to a pro career. Sprowl cited the example of Jim Abbott as an athlete who excelled despite a disability. Born without a right hand, Abbott pitched at Michigan and advanced to the majors.</p><p>“In baseball, you can go to the major leagues and find guys with disabilities,” Sprowl said. “Jim Abbott was an all-star pitcher with one arm, basically. Baseball is probably an easier sport than other ones to have a physical disability and play because of the different roles a kid could have.</p><p>“We're going to take the best players we can find to represent the school in a positive way, and that's not going to change unless we're told to do it different. You're always worried about the safety of an individual. Baseball is one of those sports that there's a few ways you could probably get hurt if you couldn't react to get out of the way or something. That could happen, but there's a lot of guys that do it. This is nothing new for athletics. It's just a matter of what the guidelines are for it.”</p><p><b>Facing challenges</b></p><p>Kareem McNeal, an instructor in the Wellness Center at Shelton State, was a volunteer assistant coach for the Tuscaloosa Academy football team during the fall. The Knights won the AISA Class AAA championship, and McNeal said he expects to get a ring.</p><p>McNeal, an offensive lineman from Tuskegee, earned a ring as a member of the 1992 University of Alabama championship team. He played at Alabama in 1991-94, graduated in 1996 and earned a master's degree in 1999, the same year McNeal was in an auto accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.</p><p>“I don't know a lot of the details on it, but I think if there are more opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in sports I think it's great because there are so many benefits for participating,” McNeal said. “There's team camaraderie. There are things you learn about life to help you overcome things and keep pushing through things. Any time you're a part of something like that and the goal is greater than yourself, then you can only improve and better yourself.</p><p>“For me, personally, it helped me to deal with my situation in the sense that there were things I had to learn to overcome and push myself on in order to achieve my goals. I wanted to start as an offensive lineman for the university, and there were some challenges I had to overcome to get to that point.”</p><p>McNeal said he faced more challenges after the accident.</p><p>“It really helped me in that regard,” he said. “Participation is the main thing. People want to be included. They don't want to be left out. People may have things that limit them to a degree. With what I do here, I have students with disabilities, and I have other students that take my classes. We work them wherever they are to be able to do what they can do.”</p>